We're In This Together
by MasterFirebender84
Summary: Season 3, just after "The Awakening". Just as the Gaang is about to leave Roku's Island, Aang is feeling extremely guilty about having run away. Even more, he feels guilty towards Katara, knowing that he hurt her when he ran away. Kataang friendship.


Yeah, just another little blurb that came to my mind today that I just _had_ to get out. :P I kinda like it, and I'm sure you'll certainly like it. :) Anways, enjoy and review! :D

****DISCLAIMER**:** I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. The show and its characters belong to Mike and Bryan, the brillant geniuses behind one of the greatest cartoon shows in the history of cartoons. Their work is legendary, and I salute them for it.

**We're In This Together**

Aang looked back up the sooty hill, watching as his old gilder staff was consumed in a ravenous ball of fire from the lava that he had planted his beloved staff in. He heavily sighed and ran a tired hand through his shaggy black hair; while it was necessary for him to get rid of his most treasured possession because of the nature of their mission, it still killed him to see yet another part of his people literally go up in flames.

"You okay, Aang?" asked a soft voice from behind him, accompanied by a gentle and concerned hand on his shoulder. Aang looked over his shoulder to see Katara standing behind him, her azure eyes worriedly boring into his own stormy gray eyes. Sokka and Toph were standing just behind her, looking on at their friend with the same care that the Waterbender was.

"Yeah…" quietly responded Aang, looking back up the hill as he heard the wood of his staff crackle and pop in the flames, each snap of charred wood striking a discordant and utterly painful chord in his already battered heart. He had just lost a very important part of his identity, of his whole _existence_ as the last Airbender in the entire world. Monk Gyatso had been the one to give him that staff when he had first learned how to glide, and he had had it with him for as long as he could remember. "It's just…" He held his head down, closing his eyes to try and shut out the pain that assailed his soul, unable to put his myriad of sporadic feelings into words.

"You don't have to say anything," kindly said Katara, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulling him into a hug, resting her head against his as she tried to lend her support and comfort to him. "It's for the best," she offered, trying to make the Avatar feel better about himself.

Aang half-opened his eyes, staring forlornly at the ground as he murmured, "Yeah…it's for the best."

"Speaking of things that are for the best," interjected Sokka, causing Aang and Katara to look over at him, "I suggest that we get going and head into the Fire Nation. We've got a lot of planning to do for the Invasion, and we're already behind as it is."

"The Invasion isn't for a while, Snoozles," reasoned Toph, her pale eyes fixated on the ashen soil underneath her bare feet, subconsciously feeling the ruins of an entire village buried under layer after layer of volcanic rock. "It's not like if we don't leave this very minute that the entire Invasion will fail."

"You can't know that for sure, Toph!" argued Sokka, crossing his arms over his chest. "We're headed into enemy territory in order to get intel for the Invasion; that way, we can end this whole war on the Day of Black Sun." Pounding his clenched fist into an open palm, he firmly said, "_Every second counts!_"

"Says you," smirked Toph, eliciting an annoyed glare from Sokka. Tilting her head up towards him, she added, "Look, I get that the Invasion is important and all that, but it's not like it's happening _right now_. We've still got time to snoop about and keep on training with each other." She felt Momo alight on her shoulder with a curious chatter, causing her to cock her head towards the Lemur as she smiled and asked, "Am I right, Momo?" The Lemur responded by affectionately licking Toph's face, making the blind Earthbender chuckle a little at the touch of Momo's tongue. "See? Even Momo agrees with me."

"He's only licking you because you taste like salt," retorted Sokka, incredulously rolling his eyes with uncontained sarcasm.

"I do not taste like salt!" protested Toph, whirling around to better face Sokka. "Just because I'm an Earthbender doesn't mean that I taste like every kind of rock or mineral on the planet!"

"How can you be sure?" challenged Sokka, leaning towards Toph as he narrowed his eyes. "Have you ever licked yourself and found out what you tasted like?"

"I have, as a matter of fact," replied Toph, placing a proud hand on her chest as she closed her eyes. Much to Sokka's disgust, which was made apparent by his abhorrent reaction, Toph picked up her foot and licked it with an audible "Gahhh…" She licked her lips a little, trying to discern the taste from the dirt that had accumulated on her tongue. "Hmm…tastes more like ash than it does salt."

Sokka stuck his tongue out, eliciting a disgusted groan as he vigorously shook his head. "I meant your _arm, _not your _foot_!"

"Then how about _you_ give it a taste, Sokka?" slyly asked Toph, taking a few threatening steps towards Sokka.

The young warrior's eyes widened with fear, and he held up his hands as he backed up and nervously said, "Hehe…no thanks, Toph. I-I think I'd like to keep my tongue _off_ of your body as much as possible. Y'know, because I'm sure you taste absolutely disgusting and-" He spun around and took off in a dead sprint towards Appa, screaming all the way with an evilly laughing Toph hot on his heels and a chattering Momo flying over their heads. Aang couldn't help but smile at the sight, reveling in the mirthful laughter that emanated out of Katara as the both of them watched the spectacle.

Aang looked over at Katara, feeling guilt wash over him like the waves that lapped at the shoreline below them. She seemed so happy and cheerful now that they were all together again, untied after a brief scare that resulted from him running away from their commandeered ship, but Aang still felt ashamed by the whole ordeal. He had let his own personal failure in Ba Sing Se cloud his mind, making him think that he had to go off and end the War by himself, heedlessly disregarding the fact that his friends, especially Katara, were willing to lay down their lives for him by fighting alongside him.

Even more than that, he knew how concerned and worried Katara had been about him back on the ship, how she had tried to get him to not blame himself for their loss in Ba Sing Se and how he shouldn't be upset at the fact that they all had to keep his survival a secret. She had tried to get him to see that the Earth Kingdom wasn't doomed to remain in Fire Nation hands forever, that the Invasion had a chance to finally end the War and to free the Earth Kingdom, but he had convinced himself that the only way to redeem himself and restore balance to the world was by defeating Fire Lord Ozai by himself.

He had pushed her away, refusing to let her help him with his pain and self-degrading thoughts, refused to let her into his conflicted heart and try to make him happy again. He had become like a cornered animal, snapping and lashing out at anyone that tried to get close to him, even if they had good intentions at heart. Needless to say, he knew that Katara's intentions for him were _always_ good at heart; she was always considerate towards him, always sought to understand the worries and doubts that he had about himself, always tried her hardest to make him smile and believe in himself.

And that one of things he loved most about her…

Her heart, so full of purity and kindness, especially towards those who were closest to her…

Especially him, the one who had turned her away when he needed her most…

Summoning up his courage, Aang drew in a deep breath, readying himself for what was to come. "Katara." She stopped laughing and looked over at him, curiosity gleaming in her eyes. Just the very look on her face, that seeming innocence that made her even more strikingly beautiful, caused tears to spring to Aang's eyes as he chokingly said, "I'm sorry." He held his head down in dejection, his shoulders shaking slightly as he brokenly said, "I'm sorry that I ran away. I should have let you help me instead of pushing you away and trying to deal with my problems on my own. I was being stupid; I see that now, and I'm sorry."

She felt her hands cup under his cheeks, lifting his troubled face up towards hers so that he could see her tender and warm smile, so full of friendliness and sincerity that it made his tears spill out even more forcefully. She let her arms drift over his shoulders, wrapping him up in another embrace that he found himself readily returning, burying his tear-veiled face into her crimson outfit. "You don't have to apologize for anything, Aang," she softly said to him, her voice calm and soothing to his tormented mind. "I know you wanted to fix things yourself because of what happened in Ba Sing Se and because you have to keep yourself a secret, but you need to realize that you have friends here who love you and will do anything to help you, especially now."

"I do realize that, Katara," insisted Aang, drying his face in her robes, "and I'm sorry I didn't see that before. I'm sorry I was such a big-headed jerk to you."

She quietly chuckled and lightly squeezed him, saying, "You couldn't be a jerk if you tried, Aang." Coming out of their embrace, she held him at arm's length, her hands on his shoulders, as she amiably smiled at him and said, "You were just trying to be strong for all of us while you should have been letting us be strong for you."

"My mistake, I guess," admitted Aang with a slight shrug of his shoulders, simultaneously joining in on Katara's respondent chuckle. Her smile went from friendly and cordial to something a little more: sweet and touched, sincere and heart-felt. She leaned in towards him and lightly pecked his cheek, which caused his face to instantly burst out into a violent crimson blush that he found himself smiling to. She leaned back from him, softly smiling down at him with glistening orbs of sapphire.

"We're in this together, Aang," she said with great certainty and pride, but also with the deepest of friendship and the warmest of joy. "We're never going to leave you alone, no matter how hard you try to push away because you feel like you have to do things on your own. We've come this far with you, and we're going to see the end of this War with you as well." Before Aang could say anything, she tightly embraced him again, whispering, "We can't lose you again, Aang. We'd be so lost without you…"

"Just like I'd be lost without all of you," admitted Aang, holding onto Katara with all of his might, as if she were the only thing that made a bright future seem possible, the last bastion of hope in a desolate situation. Without her to guide his heart, to hold up his hopes day after day, he was sure that he would have possibly given up a long time ago. With her, however, everything seemed so possible and tangible once again. The two best friends came out of their hug, smiling warmly at one another now that all was well again. "Thank you, Katara," he sincerely said, gratitude imbued in his slightly shaky voice. "I'm glad that you still believe in me."

"I've always believed in you, Aang," she smiled, folding her arms behind her back. Chuckling as she reached up to his head and ruffled his hair, she added, "You just need some help sometimes, that's all." He agreeably chuckled as she messed with his hair, playfully batting her hand away after a few moments, leaving the both of them to smile at one another.

"Will somebody _help me_ already?" screamed Sokka, drawing Aang and Katara's attention towards the others, watching as Toph continued to chase Sokka around the island. Toph seemed within a few feet of overtaking Sokka, who kept pouring on more speed as he tried to outrun Toph. "I don't wanna lick Toph's filthy arms!"

"You'll lick my arms and you'll take it like a man, Snoozles!" shouted Toph after him, not using her Earthbending to overtake him just to keep the chase going. Momo suddenly dove from the sky and heavily landed on Sokka's head, throwing him off-balance and sending him plummeting to the ground as the Lemur took back off and hovered above. "Good work, Momo!" cheered Toph, jumping onto Sokka's back and causing him to squeak with pain from the sudden pressure of the petite Earthbender.

"_Katara!_" screeched Sokka in a high octave, fighting to keep Toph from grabbing his mouth so that she could make him lick her arms.

Katara smirked and chuckled as she shook her head, taking a few moments to just take full appreciation of the situation that her brother now found himself in. "Come on, Mr. Avatar," joked Katara, lightly elbowing him. "Looks like you've got another dispute to settle."

"At least you'll be able to help me out this time, right?" airily chuckled Aang.

"Of course," smiled Katara, taking the lead as she suddenly took hold of Aang's hand, walking the two of them over towards the struggling warrior and the blind Earthbender. What the Waterbender didn't see was the all-consuming blush that enveloped Aang's face as soon as her fingers touched his.

Aang, nevertheless, allowed himself to enjoy the sensation of Katara's hand in his, smiling so hard with relief and sheer delight that he was sure his face would split wide open from the pressure.

As long as he had friends like these, Aang knew that anything was possible, and he knew that they would indeed be the ones to end this horrid War.


End file.
